Pantheism VS Panentheism
There have been many definitions and types of Pantheism throughout history. But all the theistic versions have been, or are being, reclassified as Panentheism through the World Pantheist Movement, and Pantheists and Panentheists themselves.
Since the WPM was created a little over ten years ago Pantheism has grown dramatically. Mostly among atheists. So common usage for the word Pantheism is changing world wide to mean Naturalist, Rational or Scientific Pantheism exclusively. Anything to do with the supernatural is now considered Panentheism.
As you may or may not realize, there were dozens of versions of Pantheism. So like Rome did with Christianity, the WPM organized Pantheism and decided to spread it. Other versions of the religion were not interested in spreading their versions.
But the Panenthiest versions don't want to be associated with Naturalist or Scientific Pantheism either, because they deny the supernatural or spiritual aspects.
The WPM has gotten people talking about all this. It has all been discussed among the various
organizations and in mutual chat groups all over the net, as well as in
the real world, for the past twelve years or more. The people who have Pantheistic views, but also harbour supernatural or spiritual views, are now calling
themselves Panentheists. It's become a mutual reclassification, not
something forced on anyone. Even some Christians have started calling
themselves Panenthiests, and the Catholic Church has classified Pantheism as atheism on their official web site. Mission accomplished.
The intent of the WPM is not to convert people. It is to standardize Pantheism, and let people know it is out there. You either already have the Pantheist world view or you don't. Most people that call themselves Pantheists these days say they didn't know there were others out there that thought about life the way they do.
So the sites you find on the Internet and elsewhere giving descriptions of various kinds of Pantheism that had supernatural aspects to them, are historically correct. But they no longer reflect modern Pantheism.
